CD REVIEWS (The Straits Times, July 2014)

MAHLER Symphonies

The Philharmonia / New Philharmonia

OTTO KLEMPERER, Conductor

EMI Classics 248398 2 (6 CDs) / *****

It was Gustav Mahler himself who wrote in 1907 a personal recommendation for the young Polish-Jewish pianist and conductor Otto Klemperer (1885-1973), who had presented his two-piano transcription of Mahler’s Second Symphony to the great Austrian composer himself. With the master’s imprimatur, Klemperer was to embark on an illustrious and often turbulent career that lasted almost 75 years. Regrettably he did not conduct or record all of the Mahler symphonies. This EMI Classics retrospective box-set captures just five symphonies in their full glory.

Klemperer’s takes on the Second Symphony (“Resurrection”) and The Song Of The Earth (with mezzo-soprano Christa Ludwig and the late tenor Fritz Wunderlich), recorded between 1961 and 1966, are without doubt among the greatest recordings in the catalogue. The octogenarian’s recordings of the Ninth and Seventh Symphonies are also the slowest, running at 87 and a staggering 100 minutes respectively. How he sustains these leisurely to glacial tempos mostly without sounding stodgy (the exception being the finale of the Seventh) is a testament to his judgement, and how the London-based orchestra responds to his spell-binding direction. Throw in the genial Fourth Symphony (with the matchless soprano Elisabeth Schwarzkopf) and several orchestrated Lieder (with Christa Ludwig), this is a set to truly treasure.   

SCHUBERT Complete Works

For Violin & Piano

ALINA IBRAGIMOVA, Violin

CEDRIC TIBERGHIEN, Piano

Hyperion 67911/2 (2 CDs) / *****

From the master of German lieder Franz Schubert (1797-1828) comes this handy collection of music for violin and piano, blest with the same flowing lyricism that distinguished his songs. The violin sonatas are slender pieces modelled after Mozart. The first three (D.384, 385 and 408) were composed in 1816 and published as Sonatinas for piano and violin (note the piano’s designation of prominence), most probably aimed at the amateur music-making market. These are delightful pieces, full of melodic charm and congenial humour. Even when exhibiting some degree of pathos, these do not reach the level of angst in Beethoven’s sonatas.

In the single movement Rondo in B minor (D.895) and Fantasy in C major (D.934), there is greater leeway for virtuosic display. The latter is Schubert’s longest work for this medium, and also the best known. The 26-minute piece includes as its centrepiece a lovely set of variations on his lied Sei Mir Gegrusst! (I Greet You!). For good measure, Russian violinist Alina Ibragimova and French pianist Cedric Tiberghien also perform that song to close the set. Their interpretations are unmannered and highly musical, befitting the works’ humbler origins, and are a pleasurable listen form start to finish.

CD Reviews (The Straits Times, July 2014)

DUBOIS Piano Concertos

CEDRIC TIBERHIEN, Piano

BBC Scottish Symphony / Andrew Manze

Hyperion 67931 / ****1/2

History and posterity might judge French composer Theodore Dubois (1837-1924) as a staid academic and musical arch-conservative. Those qualities also apply to his contemporary, the well-loved Camille Saint-Saëns who was no more a revolutionary in his music. This disc of three Dubois piano concertos should align the two establishment figures in better perspective and possibly tip in favour of the underdog. His single-movement Concerto-Capriccioso in C minor (1876) opens with an extended solo cadenza, and shifts from seriousness to keyboard glitter, not unlike the 1^st movement of Saint-Saens’s popular Second Piano Concerto (1868).    

The Second Piano Concerto in F minor (1897) is the longest work at 28 minutes but is almost perfectly judged as not to outlive its welcome. Its four-movement form including a quirky staccato-laden Scherzo, which lasts all of two minutes, seems almost identical in proportion to Prokofiev’s modernistic Second Piano Concerto, a world away in terms of musical idiom. Finally the Suite for Piano & Strings (1917), also in four movements, is a total charmer from his old age. The fact that 41 years separate the three works makes little difference to Dubois, who rarely varied his style or palette to move with the times. These performances by French virtuoso Cedric Tiberghien, sympathetically accompanied by excellent Scottish forces, sparkle like champagne, should win new friends for the much-maligned Dubois.   

BRAHMS Violin Sonatas

LEONIDAS KAVAKOS, Violin

YUJA WANG, Piano

Decca 478 6442 / *****

It is refreshing to see and hear two of the world’s most celebrated soloists go into anti-virtuoso mode in the give-and-take world of chamber music-making. The three violin sonatas (Opus 78, 100 and 108) of Johannes Brahms could hardly be described as “easy”, but the depth of musicianship demanded goes beyond mere technical command and instrumental virtuosity. Greek violinist Leonidas Kavakos is an established chamber music veteran, having recently completed a superb Beethoven sonata cycle (also on Decca), while Yuja Wang sheds her solo diva image to be a close to ideal partner.

Even in the faster outer movements of the sonatas, there is no hint of flash or fireworks, instead a subdued and sublime air dominates. Kavakos’s tone is sweet, Wang’s piano is deliberately understated and the balance they achieve together is perfect. The slow movements are as lovely as they are breathtaking in conception. As a bonus, the duo includes the tempestuous but early Scherzo in C minor (from the FAE Sonata crafted by three composers for the violinist Joseph Joachim), which opens the disc, and as an encore a transcription of Brahms’s Cradle Song, a somnolent but effective way to sign off. Warmly recommended. 

CD Reviews (The Straits Times, August 2012)

LEKEU Violin Sonata

RAVEL Complete Violin Music

ALINA IBRAGIMOVA, Violin

CEDRIC TIBERGHIEN, Piano

Hyperion  67820 / *****

What if the Belgian-composer Guillaume Lekeu (1870-1894) had not died from typhoid at a tender age of just 24? On the evidence of his only Violin Sonata (1892/93) in G major, he might have become one of the great French-school composers of the Franck-Fauré-Chausson lineage that preceded the rise of the so-called impressionists. He was a student of Cesar Franck, which might explain the sonata’s similarities with his teacher’s own Violin Sonata, also composed for the great Belgian virtuoso Eugene Ysaye. Notable is the use of cyclical form, where the noble and lyrical main theme from the first movement returns in the finale, thus bringing unity to the sprawling 34 minute masterpiece.

Maurice Ravel’s violin music is hardly obscure, with the exception of his early Violin Sonata from 1897 (his Posthumous Sonata), which must not be confused with his Sonata of 1927 (also included here in this collection), with its iconic Blues movement. At 14 minutes, the ruminative quality of its single movement is reminiscent of Chausson’s rhapsodic Poeme, but its languidness does not scale the heights of ecstasy, a classic trait of the impressionists. Russian violinist Alina Ibragimova coaxes a pure and refined tone throughout without holding out on outright virtuosity. For the Lekeu rarity, hers is a breezy alternative to Arthur Grumiaux’s darkly-hued and brooding account from 1955. Ardently recommended.   

DVORAK Symphony No.7

Othello / The Wild Dove

Malaysian Philharmonic / CLAUS PETER FLOR

BIS SACD-1896 / *****

If anybody had suggested 15 years ago that some of the best recordings of Czech music came out from Malaysia, that person would have been considered fit for the lunatic asylum. Fact: German conductor Claus Peter Flor’s third recording with the Malaysian Philharmonic, of music by Antonin Dvorak, is an unqualified triumph. The Bohemian’s Seventh Symphony in D minor is the darkest and most Brahmsian of his great final symphonic trilogy. From its opening bars, one immediately feels the urgency, storms and stresses, which Flor works his charges to thrilling climaxes with chilling effect. The buoyant Slavonic dance that is its third movement provides some respite before being swept away by the relentless tide of the finale.

Of equal interest are the fill-ups, an overture and symphonic poem. The Shakespeare-inspired Othello is the third part of a triptych of concert overtures, with the programme of jealousy and murder vividly characterised. Even more sinister is The Wild Dove (Holoubek), based on a macabre folk ballad by Karel Erben. The tables are turned when a wife poisons her husband and marries someone else, but supernatural forces eventually wreak a terrible vengeance. All these make for excellent programme music, musical narration that tells a story without the use of words. Exciting stuff, brilliantly executed.

CD Reviews (The Straits Times, January 2010)

HAYDN Piano Sonatas Vol.2
MARC-ANDRÉ HAMELIN, Piano
Hyperion 67710 (2 CDs)

*****

This recording has unusually received the most diametrically polarised of reviews, raving praise in Gramophone but panned in International Piano. But which is right? Firstly, the French-Canadian pianist Hamelin is better known in technically complex repertoire but he does not regard Haydn as anything less. Even the “facile” Sonata No.35 in C major, bane of children learning the piano, is never academic fodder in his hands. Here it sounds like fun.

Next, there is no pretence to scholarship or so-called authenticity; instead he goes to the heart of the music. Haydn’s skittish humour is ever present and the slow movements display a lovely singing tone. Two of Haydn’s great late sonatas, No.48 (C major) and No.49 (E flat major) get the regal readings they deserve. In addition to the 9 sonatas, Haydn’s masterly Variations in F minor and Fantasia are also included. Hamelin shows how and why Haydn should never be neglected.

TCHAIKOVSKY Piano Trio
RACHMANINOV Trio Elegiaque No.1
VADIM REPIN, Violin

MISCHA MAISKY, Cello

LANG LANG, Piano

Deutsche Grammophon 477 8099
*****

The big news is Lang Lang’s recorded début as a chamber musician, and there is no more appropriate repertoire than this. The Rachmaninov is an early single-movement work, heavily influenced by Tchaikovsky, not to be mistaken for his second and better known trio. The Tchaikovsky has been recorded many times, with a wonderful set of variations as its middle movement.

The potent mix of Slavic melancholy and digital virtuosity inherent both scores are eminently suited for Lang’s temperament. He is well matched by violinist Vadim Repin and cellist Mischa Maisky, old hands in chamber repertoire. For their big techniques and egos, there is never a sense of one-upmanship, instead they forge a common ground to make these overwrought works sound fresh and relevant. Like the legendary “Million Dollar Trios” of the last century peopled by the likes of Rubinstein, Horowitz, Heifetz and Piatigorsky, this threesome is destined for greatness.

SZYMANOWSKI Violin Works
ALINA IBRAGIMOVA, Violin
CEDRIC TIBERGHIEN, Piano
Hyperion 67703

****1/2

The violin works of Polish composer Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937) are finally getting the attention they deserve. Most celebrated are the three Mythes, based on Greek mythology, which blend achingly beautiful melodies and perfumed harmonies with impressionistic hues. The shimmering textures in Fountain of Arethuse and eroticism of Narcissus are musical ambrosia, culminating with the ecstatic dance of Dryades and Pan. Even earthier is the Nocturne and Tarantella, alternating mystery with an exuberance bordering on violence.

The Sonata in D minor is more conventional but no less enjoyable. As a curiosity, three of Paganini’s Caprices are treated to Szymanowski’s quite ingenious piano accompaniment. The young Russian violinist Alina Ibragimova coaxes a beautiful ethereal sound for most part, possessing the full measure of this music’s overt sensuality and subtle nuances. French pianist Cedric Tiberghien – well known for his Debussy – is a most perceptive partner. Heartily recommended.

CD Reviews (The Straits Times, May 2009)

HAYDN Symphonies No.6,7 & 8
Freiburger Barockorchester
PETRA MULLEJANS, Leader
Harmonia Mundi 2961767

Rating *****

Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), the so-called “Father of the Symphony”, did not invent the genre but popularised it, firmly establishing it as the leading vehicle of expression in the Classical and Romantic eras. These three symphonies of 1761, composed during his first year of service in the Esterhazy household, are programmatic in character. Depicting the times of the day – Morning, Noon and Evening – it was supposed to be Haydn’s answer to Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. In truth, these sound like good old absolute music, with well-defined themes and development, not withstanding an attempt to simulate a storm (he was no Beethoven) in the final movement of Symphony No.8.

The compact Freiburg Baroque Orchestra (21 players) led by its leader violinist Petra Mullejans come as close to reliving Haydn’s Esterhaza band as possibly imagined, creating a forceful yet intimate sound. Judging by the efforts of flautist Karl Kaiser, that group must have had a supreme virtuoso of a flautist as well. This is the perfect antidote for all who imagined Haydn to be boring.

BRAHMS Hungarian Dances

Waltzes Op.39, Klavierstücke Op.76
CEDRIC TIBERGHIEN, Piano
Harmonia Mundi 902015

Rating ****1/2

Johannes Brahms originally wrote his 21 Hungarian Dances for piano duet (4 hands), having being an accompanist for a Hungarian gypsy violinist in his younger days. He later transcribed the first ten for two hands, thus taxing the amateur pianist with multitudes of notes far beyond average ability. French pianist Cedric Tiberghien more than amply supplies, finding a rare Magyar élan and exuberance in the Dances, which sparkle in his hands. The same applies for his 15 graceful Waltzes (Op.39), which require both litheness and agility over and above mere notes. More profound thoughts are plumbed in the rarely-played Eight Pieces or Klavierstücke Op.76 – comprising varied Capriccios and Intermezzos - which exhibit darker and introverted qualities. Again he delivers with an immediacy and trenchancy that is hard to resist.

CHILDREN’S CELLO
STEVEN ISSERLIS, Cello
STEPHEN HOUGH, Piano
BIS CD-1562

Rating *****

The idea of a record of short cello pieces for children is totally winning one. These are neither boring exercises nor music exam fodder, but encore-like bonbons that will charm and delight in a kiddie concert. The opening piece, Ludwig Lebell’s lovely Berceuse Orientale, requires the young cellist to play only on open strings. The pianist has far more notes, although easily accomplished on one hand. The pieces get progressively more advanced as the composers become more familiar; Boccherini’s beloved Minuet, Sibelius salon-like Lulu Waltz (just under 1 minute long), a pair of cradle songs by Fauré and Amy Beach, and Poulenc’s insouciant Serenade are plain delectable.

Some showmanship is afforded in the Bohemian David Popper’s Gavotte and the Spanish Gaspard Cassado’s Requiebros, both of whom were cello virtuosos. Hough and Isserlis include their own offerings; the former’s The Haunted House with narration from Simon Callow and musical special effects makes for engaging listening. The performers are old pros, but approach these miniatures with a wide-eyed innocence that is always refreshing.